2021 PS4018 * Palestinian Women and Girls Lead and Engage on Women Peace and Security in occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt)

Conflict shapes the context in oPt: The context in which the programme operates is highly politicized and conflictual - an environment where multiple actors attempt to impose their agenda and conflict dynamics shape and influence every aspect of life. The continued Israeli occupation of oPt has led to the fragmentation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967 which has resulted in the different realities - involving different actors and diverse political and socio-economic factors - that women and girls face today. At the end of April 2021, violence escalated in the oPt particularly in East Jerusalem as Israeli forces restricted Palestinian access to the Al-Aqsa mosque1 during the month of Ramadan. On 7 May - the last Friday of Ramadan - Israeli military forces raided the Al-Aqsa mosque and assaulted worshippers, sparking anger and outrage in the Palestinian population. Between (10-21) May, hostilities ensued between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip leaving 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, dead; and at least 72,000 Palestinians displaced2, while demonstrations throughout the West Bank against the Gaza strikes were met with excessive force by Israeli forces. According to the UN, a total of 31 Palestinians, including 5 children, in the West Bank were killed in the first 20 days of May.3 Eleven of these fatalities took place on one single day (14th of May), marking the highest recorded number of West Bank fatalities since the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began tracking this figure in 20054. More than 7,000 Palestinians sustained injuries at the hands of Israeli forces, according to UN estimates.5 As an attempt to understand the new emerging needs and effectively respond to the deterioration of stability and escalation of violence, in July 2021 War child Holland (WCH) conducted two rapid need assessments; one in Gaza Strip and one in the West Bank. The findings of the assessments have demonstrated that among the highest protection risks in the oPt were physical and mental health needs due to spikes in political violence and pandemic-related stressors.6 Furthermore, Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians doubled, from an average rate of 36 in January - April, to 72 in May, according to the UN7, causing a spike in physical injuries and property damage while simultaneously undercutting the feeling of safety and security among the Palestinians in general, and among women and girls in particular. Israeli forces also targeted Palestinian properties, demolishing, confiscating, evicting or sealing off access to 34 structures during 20 separate incidents in April and May, based on OCHA data8. In a January 2021 statement, Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory, said that 877 people, mostly women and children, were at risk of forced evictions and homelessness because of eviction applications filed by settler groups9. Shelter insecurity and the loss of homes, whether through court-ordered evictions or demolitions, can all affect the protection of women and girls. WCH need assessment results in the West Bank have strongly demonstrated that respondents’ of the survey that targeted 12 vulnerable communities with direct contact with settlers, saw their living environments as dangerous, with three out of four respondents (approximately 75%) saying that they feel unsafe and unprotected in their current place of residence. Significantly, the main reason that families said they felt unsafe were the physical attacks by Israeli forces or settlers (nearly 40 percent of respondents). A little less than a quarter of respondents cited issues related to Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank, and associated presence, activities and procedures, while about 20 percent cited political upheaval and insecurity. Women and girls were particularly more affected with these realities as 78% of women expressed changes in their moods and behaviors following the escalation in the second quarter of 202110. Another challenge that might add to the advancement of the women peace and security agenda in Palestine is the postponing of the general elections. on September 6, the Palestinian Cabinet issued a decision to postpone the legislative council election and that to only hold elections on the local government level on two phases. The first phase covers 387 local councils classified as (C) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the second phase was determined to be held on 22 March, 2022 for local councils classified as (A) and (B)11. This decision was met with criticism by the public and civil society organizations as it withholds democracy and obstruct the Palestinian people from choosing their representatives and democratically elected leaders. Moreover, holding the local government elections on two phases might diminish accountability and allows space for results to be manipulated12. COVID 19 situation in 2021: The spread of COVID-19 in oPt since March 2020 has drastically increased vulnerabilities and depleted the coping mechanisms of Palestinian people across the crowded enclaves. Not just the virus itself, but the restrictive measures put in place to contain the spread have had dire repercussions for the whole of society. Healthcare, undermined and weakened by decades of Israeli military occupation and limited resources directed by the PA, has been placed under additional strain. Economic hardship, already widespread after decades of occupation and repeated violations of international law, is at risk of deepening further due to lockdown and border closures. Marginalized groups and isolated households are particularly vulnerable, including women and workers in the informal sector who have lost their daily wage due to the lockdown and restrictive measures.13 COVID-19 has not only led to heightened protection risks in oPt, it has also put pressure on strained safety nets within families and communities, and posed a number of new Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) risks. In a rapid needs assessment conducted by War Child in September 2020, 97% of respondents reported that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures have had a negative effect on family life, access to services and work, and general wellbeing/stress levels. An alarming 79% reported changes in their relationships with family since the onset of the crisis, with the majority reporting the use of physical and emotional violence against their children due to excessive stress and feelings of frustration as a result of their inability to provide for the basic needs of their loved ones.14 Prior to the April-May political escalations in the oPt, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were also battling a third wave of high COVID-19 cases amidst a sluggish vaccine rollout. As of October 2021, WHO reported that there were 452,272 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)15. While Israel has led globally the highest per capita vaccination rates, Palestinians have struggled to access vaccines. The Palestinian government only started the distribution of the vaccines on a mass level on April 2021. As of October 30, only approximately 25 percent of the Palestinians were fully vaccinated16. According to World Bank (2021), the Palestinian economy was badly hit as a result of the pandemic, ultimately contracting by a total of 11.5 percent. The West Bank closed the year 2020 with 15 percent unemployment - lower than the national average of 23.4 percent unemployment across oPt17, while in Gaza the unemployment level went up to 48%.18 Economic strain is a known ‘push factor’ for family tensions and therefore raises the risk of domestic violence. In May 2020, a UN Women survey concluded that the Palestinian rate of domestic violence escalated following the outbreak of the COVID -19 pandemic, as lockdowns forced survivors of violence to shelter-in-place with their abusers19. --- 1 Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is considered the third holiest sites for Muslims around the world. 2 UN: There is 'no safe place in Gaza, 72,000 people displaced - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) 3 “West Bank: Escalation of Violence,” OCHA (May 2021), https://www.ochaopt.org/sites/default/files/west_bank_snapshot_2021_4june.pdf 4 “Escalation of Hostilities and Unrest in the oPt,” OCHA (May 2021), https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/ resources/flash_appeal_27_05_2021.pdf 5 “West Bank: Escalation of Violence,” OCHA (May 2021), https://www.ochaopt.org/sites/default/files/west_bank_ snapshot_2021_4june.pdf 6 War Child Rapid need assessment (July 2021), West Bank. 7 Ibid 8 Data extracted from the OCHA Demolition System online tool on June 20, 2021 9 Ibid 10 10 War Child Rapid need assessment (July 2021), West Bank. 11 https://www.elections.ps/Default.aspx 12 MIFTAH - Emergency session for representatives of institutions, factions and parties to discuss Cabinet decision on local elections 13 WCLAC COVID-19 and Women’s rights in Palestine, Gender Assessment Report, May 2020 14 War Child, Rapid Needs Assessment on Covid-19 impact, September 2020. 15 https://covid19.who.int/?adgroupsurvey={adgroupsurvey}&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7dSk3ffs8wIVGap3Ch0s7QRjEAAYASABEgIKvPD_BwE 16 https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=PSE 17 Palestinian Territories’ Economic Update,” World Bank (April 2021) Palestinian Territories’ Economic Update,” World Bank (April 2021), https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/20006620c264fb78d6fe7a6fcd325ba4-0280012021/original/13-mpo-sm21-palestinian-territories-pse-kcm2.pdf 18 https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/post.aspx?lang=en&ItemID=3987 19 “Rapid Assessment on COVID-19 and Domestic and Family Violence Services Across Palestine,” UN Women (May 2020)